Monday, June 09, 2008

These photos are of the main thoroughfare that lies about 200 meters from our place. Taken by a friend Jojo around noon on June 7 (Saturday), while on his way to the MTR station to report to work after the typhoon warning signal was hoisted down from black rain to amber.

It started pouring in the morning of Friday, June 6. Late in the afternoon of the same day, the winds started to move radically and the rains started to fall more heavily, which carried on until the following day. This heavy downfall caused the soil from the mountains beside our village and those that can be found close to Discovery Bay to erode. Our village was flooded knee-high with muddy, murky water (from the mountains, not from the sewage system like which happens a lot in Manila every now and then) and the creek nearby started to overflow.

People panicked, and some braved the rain and the flood to evacuate to the town plaza even if only for half a day, until the inclement weather would start to show some positive progress.

The roads were blocked due to the minor landslide and bus and taxi operations were paralyzed.

It all happened here in Tung Chung. The first time ever since we moved here three years ago. Some were shocked by the sudden temperamental outburst of nature; others were amused at how fast HK government responded to the emergency. Some got scared for their dear lives; others went on to take advantage of the suspension of work, and never left their beds.

Dan and I, we didn't really get to experience all these. The stories we told our friends and our families were all but stories we heard from other people. Because since the typhoon started, until it has gone hundreds of miles away from the island that it damaged, we were out on another island partying like Paris and Nicole. The biggest damage we have accounted so far are a few hundreds of dollars from our back account. Oh, and a little bit on our livers too, from the many glasses of chardonnay, cosmopolitan, champagne and all thet shit that we rained down on us at Volume. But hey! No one can blame us. You only turn 30 once!(Not me. Dan.)